When You Least Expect It
by hockeyforever
Summary: They say you find love when you least expect it, and for Laurel, this is especially true. With Tara in prison and Jax desperately trying to pull things together, Gemma convinces Jax to hire a nanny for Abel and Thomas. Despite Laurel's best efforts, she just can't say no to one particular member of SAMCRO. (rated M for swearing only - just to be safe)
1. Chapter 1

**This is another little story I had playing around in my mind so I thought I'd write it out before Season 6 starts. This takes place very shortly after the end of Season 5 and I will be continuing it without trying to work in the real details of the upcoming season. I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think.**

**I only own my OC! Darn.**

* * *

"It wouldn't be any of my business and I really wouldn't want to know," she said honestly, wondering if her answer would offend the hard woman sitting across from her, who was obviously sizing her up.

Gemma stared at her carefully, trying to decide if she was being honest or just trying to say what she thought she wanted to hear. She leaned forward and tried a different approach.

"You're telling me that you wouldn't have any issues working for a motorcycle club?" Gemma asked with skepticism in her voice. She needed to know if this Laurel was legitimately there for the nanny position or if it was her way of weaseling her way in to snag herself a Son.

"With all due respect Mrs. Morrow, I wouldn't be working for a club. I'd be working for Mr. and Mrs. Teller," Laurel answered as politely as possible. She sat at an angle from Gemma with her hands crossed on her lap, trying her best to control her nerves. She had only been in Charming for two months and had heard a few rumours about the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, but nothing that scared her away from the idea of working for one of its members. She had, however, heard from several people how tough Gemma Morrow was and she was quickly understanding how she got this reputation.

Gemma sat back and crossed her legs while keeping her eyes fixed on Laurel. It threw her for a second to hear her refer to Jax as Mr. Teller but she appreciated her professionalism while being interviewed. What she didn't appreciate was the hint of attitude behind that answer.

"Why the hell would you want this position anyway?" she asked. This was the fourth woman she had interviewed that week as a potential nanny for Abel and Thomas and so far all of them seemed incompetent. With Tara in prison and the boys' hospital daycare privileges revoked, Gemma had been the one to step up and take care of her grandsons, which she was honoured to do. But with things piling up back at the garage and Jax's struggle to get Tara released from prison, she had talked him into getting a nanny for the boys until they could get things settled and back to normal, or at least some semblance of normality. She assured Jax that she would take care of the interviews and promised to pick someone who he could trust with his boys and who wouldn't get scared off by any of the clubs' business.

Laurel smiled and took Gemma's question as a positive sign that she liked her answers so far. "Well, I've been working as a nanny for the last 11 years and I really enjoy it," she said fondly. "I'm new to Charming and when this position became available I figured it would be a good fit." She looked around the living room just then, noticing the tidy pile of toys tucked into a corner, the toddler table and chairs set up between the couch and television and several close up pictures decorating the walls. She spotted one in particular, a spontaneous family portrait, and felt at ease while looking at the parents who obviously loved each other and the two boys that they clearly adored. Surely, this was a loving family that she would be happy to work for, regardless of the rumours she had heard.

"What brought you to Charming?" Gemma asked bluntly, wondering why anyone new would want to move to her small town.

"Honestly?" Laurel asked with a small laugh of embarrassment. "The name." She smiled and looked at Gemma who was obviously going to ask what she meant by that.

"The name," Gemma repeated, wondering if Laurel was some head in the clouds freak who came here looking to find herself a prince. "What the hell does that mean?" she went on, feeling like the one nanny candidate who had potential just blew her chances with that last comment.

Laurel smiled but grew nervous at Gemma's reaction, knowing that Gemma was probably thinking that she was some sort of flake. "I know it sounds stupid," she began. "But when I looked up agencies to apply to in California, I came across the one in Charming and I figured that it sounded quaint," she said, remembering how she first laughed at the name of the town but became interested in it once she began doing some research. "I've mostly worked in large cities and figured that a small town would be a nice change of pace."

Gemma lowered her eyes to her lap, finding the leather bound binder that Laurel handed over when they first sat down. She looked at her resume, reading off the locations that she had worked in over the years. Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Sacramento, Manchester, and Liverpool... _Shit, she did get around_, Gemma thought. Looking over the letters of recommendation and references that Laurel provided, she could tell that Laurel was very qualified and that the families she worked for highly recommended her. Gemma raised her eyes to find Laurel looking back at her, a polite smile barely hiding the fact that she was anxious to hear her response. Gemma took in a slow, deep breath and appraised the young woman that sat in front of her, not at all caring if she was being rude while doing so.

Laurel had long caramel coloured hair reaching halfway down her back, currently flowing over her shoulders, revealing large soft curls. She had it parted down the middle and intricately woven into waterfall braids all along the sides. Her big green eyes were attentive but kind, and didn't seem to shy away from Gemma's gaze. With high cheekbones and a small mouth, she looked delicate, causing Gemma to wonder if she would be capable of handling her two grandsons, not to mention the obvious attention she would be getting from many of the members of SAMCRO.

"Why'd you work in so many different places?" Gemma asked, referring to the long list on her lap.

"I just sort of went where the work was," Laurel answered, recalling how after her parents died she felt the need to travel and get away for a while and experience what the world had to offer.

"And you worked in England? What, you got sick of the states?" Gemma went on, noticing that Laurel's last two years were spent overseas.

"No, well, a friend of mine from Windsor was a nanny as well and she thought it would be fun to travel around and work in Europe for a while, before we got too old for it," Laurel explained, watching Gemma paying close attention to her. She went on. "I really enjoyed it over there but my visa was only good for two years, so I had to come home."

"Is that where you were born? Windsor?" Gemma asked.

"No, but it's where I grew up," Laurel answered simply.

Gemma didn't say anything but instead waited for Laurel to continue. When a moment of silence passed, Gemma cleared her throat and closed the binder, making up her mind about Laurel.

"I'll give you a week," she began, watching Laurel's face light up. "To prove yourself," she added strictly, not wanting Laurel to get her hopes up.

Laurel was thrilled to being given a chance at a new position. While she was working abroad, she had heard of how hard it was to find a job in the states and was worried that she would have to find a part time position to hold her over for a while when she first got back. At the moment, being given a trial period was as good as hearing she was hired.

"Thank you," Laurel said with enthusiasm, standing up and extending her hand to Gemma. "I won't let you down," she went on, squinting briefly at how cliche her last comment sounded. She smiled anyway and waited for Gemma to stand up as well.

With pursed lips and an outstretched jaw, Gemma put down the binder she was holding and stood up, stepping forward to reach Laurel's hand. By the looks of her, Gemma had expected Laurel to be weak, but her firm handshake suggested otherwise.

"Come on. I'll show you around," Gemma offered as she took her hand back and stepped past Laurel on her way towards the hallway. Laurel followed behind, letting out a deep breath with relief.

"Bathroom," Gemma said, waving to her left. "Jax and Tara's room. You won't need to go in there," she explained before leaning in and closing the bedroom door. "This is Abel's room," Gemma exhaled, letting Laurel take a quick look inside from beside her. She continued her clockwise tour by walking towards Thomas's room. "This is Thomas's room. Now," she leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms, with Laurel joining her in the entrance to the room. "There may be a few times when Jax might need to stay out later than expected. So that futon couch opens into a bed," Gemma explained pointing to the beige couch across from Thomas's crib. "Hope you're okay with a flexible schedule," she partially questioned.

"Yeah, that won't be a problem at all," Laurel answered, well aware that things come up and schedules can change. She had spent the night plenty of times in the guest room to take care of her charges when parents were out late.

Gemma watched Laurel looking around Thomas's room and again, carefully looked her over. Laurel reached up to just below Gemma's shoulder while only wearing ballet flats. _Good height_, Gemma thought, considering she was wearing heals herself. Her eyes trailed downwards, taking in Laurel's average, slender frame under her black dress pants and white, short sleeved blouse. To Gemma's pleasure, she didn't look as wimpy as she first thought, making her feel a little more comfortable with her. _Never trusted skinny bitches_, Gemma playfully thought with a small scoff.

Laurel looked up at the sound that Gemma made and pulled back slightly when she realized that Gemma was checking her out.

"So when do I start?" she asked, taking a step back to allow Gemma to lead the way towards the kitchen.

"Come by tomorrow morning at 7:30. You'll meet Jax and the boys then and we can discuss what you'll be doing," Gemma instructed over her shoulder on her way to the kitchen.

"Okay," Laurel answered. She stopped and trailed back a few steps to where Gemma had been sitting earlier and grabbed her binder. On her way back to meet up with Gemma she smiled and held up the book. "Forgot this," she explained.

"Any questions?" Gemma asked, starting to feel more comfortable with her decision to hire Laurel.

"None that I can think of now but I'll be sure to have plenty tomorrow," she answered with a small laugh, knowing that her first day would be overwhelming. There was always a lot to take in on the first day of working with a new family and she knew that tomorrow would be no exception.

"Alright. I'll see you at 7:30," Gemma said, ushering Laurel to the front door.

"Thank you again," Laurel said sincerely, nodding to Gemma before stepping out the door.

"Umm hmm," Gemma answered. "Dress comfortable," she added before Laurel got to her car. She acknowledged Gemma's suggestion with a wave as she got into her silver Ford Focus and backed out of the driveway. "Hope she can handle it," Gemma muttered to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for the kind and encouraging reviews and to all of you who have followed and favourited this story! I'm going to apologize ahead of time about the little details of this story that I'm sure are incorrect, like Abel and Thomas's ages. I just sort of estimated them since the show doesn't really give much of a specific timeline reference.**

**Please let me know what you think!**

**I only own Laurel.**

* * *

Abel tediously brought a spoonful of cereal to his mouth, spilling milk onto his lap and chin as he did so. Jax smiled at his son, marvelling at how quickly he was growing up, then reached over and wiped the trail of milk travelling down Abel's chin. His son looked over at him and gave him a squinty smile, revealing bits of cereal and small bubbles of milk through slightly parted lips. Jax let out a deep breath and felt his chest ache. It had almost been a month since Tara was taken away from their home and sent to prison and every day without her was more painful than the last. Abel constantly asked when his mommy would be home, and with no concept of time, he was unable to understand just what "soon" really meant, which hurt Jax every time he asked for her. He was doing everything he could think of to get her out, but Lowen informed him that the evidence against her was too damning and they'd have to wait for her hearing scheduled next month to find out any more about her case.

"What's she like?" Jax asked over his shoulder without looking at his mother, while lifting a spoonful of soft cereal up to Thomas's mouth.

Gemma finished pouring herself a cup of coffee then leaned with her hip resting against the counter. "Nice. Kinda feisty," she exhaled, remembering how Laurel handled her questions yesterday about working for the club. "I told her she had a week to prove herself so I can always let her go if she doesn't work out. But she's qualified and highly recommended," Gemma added, knowing that Jax was leery about having a stranger come in to take care of his boys. She wanted to make sure that he knew just how serious she was taking all of this. "I won't leave her alone with my babies if I don't trust her."

"Alright," he muttered before getting another spoonful of cereal. "What's her name again?"

"Laurel. Price," she answered. "The guys'll be sure to like her," Gemma added playfully, cocking an eyebrow. "Might want to keep her away from the garage."

"What'd ya mean?" Jax asked.

"She's hot," Gemma answered with a slight sputter after taking a sip of her coffee. She realized the night before that if Laurel had wore tighter and more revealing clothing, she'd make one hell of a crow eater.

"Think they'll be able to handle themselves," Jax replied with a sly smirk, wondering if Gemma was right and just how hot this nanny was going to be.

* * *

Sitting in her car outside in Jax's driveway, Laurel looked at her reflection in her rear view mirror and tightened her ponytail, noticing the slight traces of dark circles under her eyes that she had tried to cover up with a touch of concealer earlier that morning. She hadn't slept well the night before, which was common the night before she started working with a new family. Laurel looked down at the clock on her dashboard and read that it was 7:17. _Little too early_, she thought, but figured that it wouldn't hurt to show that she was eager to get started. She reached over to the passengers side seat and grabbed her back back, containing a few essentials for working with young children; a simple change of clothes, painkillers in a child proof container, hand wipes, running shoes, and a pen and notepad for taking any notes she may need.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling sharply, she opened the door and got out, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and pulling her ponytail out of the way. Laurel walked by two SUVs and a motorcycle on her way up to the front door, wondering how many people she was about to meet. She walked up the two steps to the door and knocked softly, being unsure of the children's sleeping schedule. She heard footsteps approaching and saw the top of Gemma's head coming into view from the small windows in the door.

"You're early," Gemma noted as a greeting.

"Yeah, sorry. I didn't want to take any chances of being late," Laurel explained, wondering if this was somehow a bad start, but feeling that it was better to be too early than late.

"Come in. Everyone's in the kitchen," Gemma said, stepping aside to let Laurel pass. She was glad to see that Laurel had taken her advice from the day before and wore more comfortable clothes. Jeans and a tshirt were much better suited than dress pants and a blouse while running around after two kids. Laurel stopped a few feet inside of the house and allowed Gemma to catch up and lead the way into the kitchen.

"Jax," Gemma called before reaching the kitchen. "This is Laurel," she introduced. Laurel entered the kitchen and saw two young boys sitting at the kitchen table on opposite sides of their father, whose back was turned to her. When he spun around, she noticed at once how good looking he was. The sun beamed through the windows and landed on Jax, brightening his already blonde, slick back hair and thick goatee, making him more striking. He stood up and took a step forward to shake her hand, politely smiling. Laurel couldn't help but think that he looked like a stereotypical Californian surfer but with an edge, and thought it was odd that while he looked very charming, he also looked extremely tough.

"How's it goin'?" Jax asked conversationally, suddenly understanding what Gemma meant about keeping her away from the garage. He gave Laurel a quick once over when he first looked at her and definitely noticed how attractive she was. Her lightly tanned skin looked smooth and flawless and her big, green eyes quickly put him at ease. She smiled at him while they shook hands and she suddenly looked friendly and trustworthy, making him feel comfortable with Gemma's decision to hire her.

"Good," Laurel said, letting go of his hand. "It's nice to meet you," she went on, then looked over at the table where Abel and Thomas were sitting. Abel was turned around in his chair, ducking slightly behind the slats and watching her carefully. Thomas on the other hand was sitting up excitedly in his high chair, staring at the stranger with wide eyes and a bright smile. Laurel's smile deepened at the sight of the two boys she could potentially be working with and she gave them both a small, silent wave.

"So, yeah, alright," Jax said, bringing his hands together. He wasn't sure what the protocol was with new nannies so he decided to tell her everything he figured she might need to know. The next twenty minutes were spent going over some of the daily routines that the boys had, including their lunch time, snack and nap times, extracurricular schedules for the week and pointing out some of the boys' favourite and least favourite activities. Laurel tried her best to retain all of the information that Jax spewed out in that short time, jotting down what she could in her notebook, but missed some of it, knowing that by the end of the day she would most likely have everything learned and would be more comfortable when she came over the next day. First days were always hit and miss.

Gemma watched Abel and Thomas as Jax spoke with Laurel and noticed how shy Abel seemed around her. He stayed partially hidden behind his chair and didn't go out of his way to meet her. Thomas on the other hand seemed like he couldn't wait to get out of his high hair and stumble on over to her.

"I'll stay here for a while so the boys aren't nervous," Gemma cut in as Jax was showing Laurel where they kept the cutlery for the boys. Jax and Laurel both turned at her statement. Laurel, although a little nervous about spending the entire day with Gemma Morrow, appreciated that she would be there to help ease Abel into the idea of having a nanny. She could tell that he was nervous about it so far.

"Good," Laurel said honestly, giving Gemma a thankful smile.

"You sure?" Jax asked, knowing that Gemma had things to get caught up on at the garage. He looked at his mother and saw that she had already made up her mind.

"Yeah," she said. "You get going and I'll show Laurel around."

Laurel watched Jax and Gemma exchange a grateful look and knew that their family must be going through something difficult. She then heard a low rumble in the distance, like someone roughly clearing their throat, even though she knew it was a motorcycle. It grew louder and closer and she saw Jax look over at the clock.

"That's Tig," he offered, looking at his sons but talking to Gemma. "Said he needed to see me first thing," he went on, wondering what Tig had to say to him.

"Is he okay?" Gemma asked, knowing that he had just been through a lot with Damon Pope and with Opie's death.

Laurel stood still, feeling like she was butting in on a private conversation between Jax and Gemma. In an attempt to make herself feel less awkward, she made her way to the kitchen table and sat down at the tucked in chair beside Thomas and across from Abel, sensing that Abel was still unsure of her. She smiled at him when she sat down.

"My name's Laurel," she said in almost a whisper as she leaned in. "What's your name?" she asked, being sure to smile to the blonde haired boy in front of her.

Abel looked up at her with his head still facing downward. His forehead creased as his eyes reached up to look at her face. "Abel," he said quietly.

Laurel raised her eyebrows and her smile grew. "That's a good name," she said enthusiastically, but still not very loud. "And is this your big brother?" she asked as she turned to look at Thomas beside her, who was reaching out to grab her shoulder.

Abel let out a small giggle. "No," he said. "He's little," Abel answered.

"Oh," Laurel said with surprise, "I'm sorry. He just looks so big." Abel lifted his head fully to look up at Laurel. "What's his name?" she asked him when she saw Abel look up, even though she was already aware of both of their names.

"Thomas," Abel said. "He's one," he added.

"Oh," she said with a nod, "and how old are you?" Laurel asked, beginning to feel happy that Abel seemed to be opening up to her. The loud rumble outside grew very loud as it approached Jax's house then cut out suddenly, making the house seem too quiet all at once despite the slight ringing left in her ear.

"Two," Abel said proudly, holding up two fingers on his right hand. Gemma had already told her the day before about Abel and Thomas but she was enjoying their little chat and thought it was sweet how Abel had a sense of pride in knowing how old he was.

Three hard, quick knocks came from the front door and Jax left the kitchen to answer it, excusing himself as he left. Gemma had been watching Laurel talking with her grandsons and was starting to believe she made the right choice in hiring her but would stick around for most of the day just to be sure.

"Just wanted to catch ya without the guys around," Laurel heard a mans voice saying from the front door.

"Yeah, brother, what is it?" Jax asked.

"Are we good? I mean, with everything with Pope, are we good?" Tig asked, still feeling uneasy about Jax almost allowing Pope to kill him, but at the last minute, giving Tig the opportunity to kill Pope instead. He didn't want there to be any residual resentment from Jax that would lead to any more unexpected situations.

"We're good man," Jax answered honestly, then hugged Tig, clapping him hard on the back of his cut. "Lemme say goodbye to my boys then we'll head out," he added as leaned out of the hug and stepped towards the kitchen.

With Jax away from the table, Laurel had taken over feeding Thomas his cereal with Gemma looking on. She saw Jax from the corner of her eye walking back into the kitchen with a blur of dark leather trailing behind him. She looked up and blinked rapidly when she laid eyes on one of the fiercest men she had ever seen, in every sense of the word. There was an air of danger about him that caused her to hold her breath in fear and excitement when he stepped closer to her, not wanting to upset him in any way. He looked mean but appealing and she was thrown off by how she was reacting to him. She had never experienced that feeling before and she didn't know what to do when he locked eyes with her and smiled a slow, deep smile that crinkled his crystal blue eyes and made him even more striking.

Tig remained motionless in the entrance to the kitchen staring at Laurel who was looking at him with an undeniably shocked expression, and he liked the affect he seemed to be having on this stunning woman. His heart raced and he was struck by how pretty she was while he waited to be introduced to her.

"Tig, this's Laurel. Laurel, Tig," Jax quickly introduced as if on cue, as he walked over to kiss Abel on the top of the head. "Be good," he said to Abel with a smile.

"Bye daddy," Abel said with admiration.

"Hello," Tig said softly, as if he were out of breath.

Laurel kept her eyes on Tig, being unable to look away and break the eye contact she held with him. "Hello," she answered back cheerfully, trying her hardest to act like Tig wasn't making her nervous.

Jax walked in front of Laurel to get to Thomas, which temporarily blocked Tigs' view of her. When she appeared again, Tig saw that she had quickly turned away from him to look at Thomas who was now getting a kiss on his head from his father. "Bye little man," he heard Jax say. Tig couldn't turn his eyes away from her and took great pleasure in watching her.

"Hello, Tig," Gemma said loudly, getting Tigs' attention suddenly.

He turned and looked at her quickly, seeing a smirk on her face that let him know he had been caught checking Laurel out. "Hey Gem," he said before stepping over and planting a kiss on her cheek. He stood next to Gemma but looked over at Laurel who was chating with Abel and Thomas. "Who's that?" he asked her quietly with a small head tilt in Laurels direction.

"The new nanny," Gemma answered, expecting this reaction from Tig.

"Oh," Tig answered under his breath, surprising Gemma who wasn't used to seeing Tig so reserved in the presence of a beautiful woman.

"Alright, see ya mom," Jax said, grabbing his cut off the back of his chair and coming over to Gemma, placing a kiss on her cheek. He put his hand on her elbow and leaned in, hoping to keep his voice low. "Lemme know how it goes?" he asked, referring to Laurel's first day.

"I will," Gemma assured him.

Laurel snuck a peak over towards Jax, Gemma and Tig and felt that Jax looked a lot tougher standing with Tig than he did when she first met him. While Jax wore a white tshirt and dark blue jeans paired with white running shoes, Tig had on black faded jeans, a navy button up shirt and scuffed, black boots. Both of them wore their clubs cut, instantly adding an intimidating touch, making Laurel wonder what the rest of the club was like.

"Abel, Thomas, you be good for Laurel, okay?" Jax said, looking at his sons sitting at the table. He was answered by two big smiles and two exagerrated nods from Abel, then turned to look at Tig. "Ready?" he asked, adjusting his cut on his shoulder.

"Yeah," Tig answered.

"Bye boys. Bye mom," he said in turn then looked at Laurel who was holding a spoon. "Good luck," he said playfully, to which he received a laugh. He made his way by Tig, who turned to follow.

"Bye Gemma," Tig said simply. "Bye guys," he said to Abel and Thomas, holding out his hand in a wave. He then looked at Laurel and smiled, more with his eyes than his mouth. "Bye Laurel," he said sincerely.

"Bye," Laurel answered with a quick look his way then turned her head to face Thomas again, hoping that her cheeks weren't red.

"Holy _shit_," Tig muttered to himself as he left the house, raising his eyebrows and giving his head a small, quick shake.

"What?" Jax asked, over hearing Tigs' comment.

"Nothin'," he lied, for some reason not wanting to go on to Jax about how beautiful he thought his nanny was.

* * *

In the late afternoon, after Abel and Thomas took a nap, they were playing outside with Laurel and Gemma, who were both pushing them on a swingset out in the backyard. From what she had seen of Laurel and how her grandsons seemed to warm up to her as the day went on, Gemma had a good feeling about her.

"You got any kids?" Gemma asked, noting how Laurel lit up when she played with Abel and Thomas.

"No," Laurel said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Gemma nodded and pushed Thomas again. "You want any someday?" she went on as a way of finding out more about Laurel.

Laurel smiled, tilting her head fondly to the side. "Yeah," she smiled, as she pushed Abel again. "But I'm running out of time," she added.

"What'd ya mean?" Gemma asked, wondering if Laurel was about to reveal that she was sick.

"Well, I'm not not married or with anyone and I _am_ getting older," Laurel explained.

"Well, how old are you?" Gemma asked, feeling that Laurel was too young to be feeling that way.

"30," Laurel said. "I'll be 31 in a few months," she clarified.

"Jesus, you're 30?" Gemma spat out, not believing her. Looking at Laurel, she never would have guessed that she was in her thirties. She had no visible wrinkles or any of the telltale signs of getting older, like dull skin or dryness.

"Yeah, why?" Laurel asked with a slight laugh.

"I thought you were in your mid twenties. I never would've given you 30," Gemma said, wondering what Laurel's secret was to looking so young.

"Must be genetics," Laurel answered lightly, taking Gemma's reaction as a compliment.

"What, is your mom out there passing as your sister or something?" Gemma asked, trying to imagine what an older version of Laurel would look like.

"No, my mom's dead," Laurel answered simply.

Gemma stood still. "Sorry to hear that," she responded a few seconds later, feeling their playful banter disappear. "How long?" she asked.

"12 years," Laurel exhaled then looked at Gemma. "Breast cancer," she answered before Gemma could ask.

Gemma raised and lowered her eyebrows quickly then nodded, staying quiet for a few seconds. "How old was she?" she finally went on.

"73," Laurel answered.

Gemma nodded again but squinted and furrowed her brow. "Wait," she began. Laurel looked over and saw her staring blankly at a spot on the ground, knowing that Gemma was doing the math. "Your mother had you in her fifties?" Gemma asked loudly with wide eyes, cringing at the idea of herself having a child at her age.

"No, my," Laurel paused, preparing herself for having to explain her confusing background again. "My adoptive mom died when she was 73. My biological mother had me when she was 18," Laurel explained.

"Oh," Gemma replied, returning her attention to Thomas in the swing.

Laurel sensed that Gemma wanted to know more about her background and decided to tell her as much as she knew.

"When my parents," she stopped. "My biological parents, when they got pregnant with me, their families insisted that they not have me, threatening to disown them if they did. They didn't listen and decided to have me anyways," Laurel began explaining. She didn't know a lot of the details about her biological family, but she tried to explain as best she could. "Anyways, they moved to California from Montana and had me here. And when I was almost one, they went to a friends party and left me with a neighbour who sometimes looked after me while they worked. From what I was told, a fire broke out at their friends' house and they got trapped, killing them along with three other people."

"My god," she heard Gemma said quietly beside her.

Laurel looked over at Gemma, who looked sad, and continued, knowing that she sounded blunt and uncaring while she told her story. "I was put into foster care right away since my biological family didn't want anything to do with me and I lived with several different families over the next few years. Then when I was 5, I was adopted by an older couple in Windsor who couldn't have children themselves."

She stopped talking and Gemma looked on, not seeing any sadness or remorse on Laurel's face while she told her story and wondered how she could be so calm while talking about such a horrible sounding childhood.

Laurel saw that expression on Gemma's face, one she was quite used to seeing whenever she revealed something about her past, and continued. "Look, I know it sounds like I'm cold but," she took a deep breath, "I never knew my biological family, so I can't exactly say that I miss them, and talking about their death and my grandparents not wanting me doesn't really bother me all that much. I had a really great childhood and _amazing_ parents who loved me very much. And I still have lots of cousins and aunts and uncles who I still see quite regularly, so I'm not sad about my past."

Gemma continued to watch Laurel and wondered how strong and well rounded she seemed, considering she had come from such a messed up family situation. Then she realized that no family situation was perfect and Laurel sounded sincere when she spoke about her adoptive family, leading Gemma to believe that she really was okay with her past.

"Higher, Lowell," Abel squealed as Laurel pushed him higher, breaking Gemma's concentration.

"No, Abel, honey. It's Laurel," Gemma corrected him.

"No, no," Laurel cut in, liking the honest mistake and smiling at Abel, whose hair was flying in the breeze. "I like it."

* * *

**Stay tuned. Laurel meets the rest of SAMCRO next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I haven't updated in a while but I promise that I will finish this story. I may not be able to update very frequently (crazy schedule) but I won't desert it, I swear. Please let me know what you think and I want to thank all of you for your reviews and for following and favouriting this story and myself. It really does make me happy to log in and see that people are following and enjoying this story so far.**

**I do not own any of the Sons of Anarchy Characters and have nothing to do with the show.**

* * *

"Did you have fun?" Laurel asked while looking both ways as she entered the intersection.

"Yeah," Abel answered.

She looked in the rear view mirror to find a wet haired Abel, sipping on a box of apple juice held up by white, pruney fingers.

"So you like swimming?" Laurel went on, obviously knowing that Abel had just had a great time at his swimming lessons.

"Yeah," Abel said happily, looking over at Thomas sitting next to him in the back seat.

They were in Jax's SUV on their way back home, where Laurel would feed them lunch then put them both down for a much needed nap, which would allow her to take a quick break and get a few things cleaned up from earlier that morning.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

She felt the problem before hearing the sound and suddenly tightened her grip, having trouble keeping the steering wheel in control. Laurel looked around and saw that there weren't many cars on the road and was thankful that they happened to be getting close to the Teller-Morrow lot, only about three blocks down the road. She eased her foot off of the gas and gingerly drove towards the lot, not knowing if the tire was about to go flat or even blow. She saw the sign and pushed out a breath of relief, knowing that they'd quickly take care of the problem without trying to talk her into unnecessary repairs like other repair shops would.

"Guess what boys. We're going to see your grandma," Laurel said cheerfully, not wanting to tell them they were going to see Jax, in case he wasn't on the lot.

She carefully drove to the lot and pulled in, nervous of the fact that she had to wrench the steering wheel forcefully when she made the left hand turn. Laurel made her way down the long concrete driveway leading up to the garage, flanked by cars and motorcycles lined up on her right and what looked like a warehouse on her left. As she got closer to the garage entrance she spotted a few more motorcycles carefully lined up just past the warehouse, perfectly spaced and leaning on an angle. She felt very out of place, having never been near motorcycles before, and reminded herself that she worked for the president of a motorcycle club. She turned her attention back to the garage and saw an empty spot to her right where she could park for the time being. Laurel turned and pulled into the free spot, coming face to face with a swing set and small wooden playground. _Perfect_, she thought, knowing that Abel and Thomas would get restless if they had to sit around in the office while she waited to find out what was wrong with the SUV.

"Alright," she said, drawing out the word as she grabbed a diaper bag and opened her door. She stepped out of the SUV and leaned past the door to look at the drivers side front wheel. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary but she knew she hadn't imagined the sound and the difficulty she had driving. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, feeling frustrated by the delay but thankful that it wasn't her own car that was having issues. She opened the back door then worked the buttons to Thomas's car seat before lifting him into her arms once she got him free. Abel tried his best to get his own buckles undone but was unsuccessful. With Laurel's help he was able to shrug out of the straps and reach out for Laurel's shoulder, grabbing on to her for support as he stepped out of his seat and onto the running board. With a big windup and an impressive jump, he landed on the ground and stood up proudly.

"Nice jump," Laurel congratulated, then took his hand, closing the door with her hip.

All three of them made their way through the bright sun to the garage office, hearing high pitched squeals and drilling from the open garage doors.

Abel ran up the steps to the office ahead of Laurel, hoping to see his father.

"What are you guys doing here?" Gemma asked happily as her grandson came bouncing through the door. She stood up from her desk and met him with a big hug running her hands over his still damp hair.

Laurel stepped into the office, lowering Thomas to the floor but holding on to his hands to prevent him from falling. "The SUV's making a weird noise and it's hard to steer. I figured I'd stop by to get it looked at since we were close," Laurel explained.

"What happened? Did you hit something?" Gemma asked.

"No, I was just driving then felt the wheel go stiff and heard a thumping noise," Laurel described, wondering if she did in fact hit something without noticing, which she doubted.

"Alright, I'll have Juice check it out," Gemma offered. "Did you want to hang out here or bring them into the clubhouse?" Gemma asked sincerely. She had really begun to like Laurel and knew that her grandsons really liked having her around. She figured that none of the guys would mind them going into the clubhouse to wait while the SUV got checked out.

Laurel turned and looked behind her, seeing a sign over the warehouse letting her know that it was the clubs' clubhouse. She didn't know what to expect to find in there and since she wanted to keep herself separate from the motorcycle club as much as possible, she simply shook her head and tried to sound polite. "No, I'll take them over to the swing set over there," she said, referring to the one she saw when she parked. "Here are the keys," she added, taking Jax's car keys out of the diaper bag and handing them to Gemma. "Come on Abel, let's go play," Laurel said with a big smile, hoping that he'd want to play instead of going into the clubhouse.

"Juice," Gemma called out sharply over her shoulder. Laurel heard the small clang of something being put down onto metal then the scuffling of boots getting closer to the office. From a door she didn't know existed on the side of the office, she saw a head pop into the room that looked at her with surprise.

"Yeah, Gemma?" Juice asked, taking a step further into the office. He hadn't expected to see anyone in the office with Gemma and he was surprised to see Jax's sons and a beautiful woman that he didn't recognize.

Gemma held out Jax's car keys to Juice. "Something's wrong with Jax's car. The tire?" she paused and looked at Laurel, who nodded. "Check it out next, will ya?"

Juice nodded and looked at Laurel.

"It's the front, drivers side," Laurel explained when she met eyes with Juice. She was beginning to realize that her stereotypical idea of what a biker should look like was way off. Before her stood a young man who she assumed was close enough to her age and height, who looked more like a punk than a biker. His short Mohawk and tattooed scalp, to her, made him look more like a rebelling teenager than someone in a motorcycle club. He had kind brown eyes, that looked worried at the moment but she didn't feel threatened by him in any way, which she assumed was his intention by the look he was trying to pull off.

"I'll get on it when I finish up with the car I'm working on," Juice said to both Laurel and Gemma.

"Juice, this's Laurel. Abel and Thomas' nanny," Gemma said quickly, looking between the two of them, knowing that they hadn't met yet. "Laurel this is Juice."

"Nice to meet you," they both said at the same time, causing them both to smile and let out a small, amused scoff. "Better get back to work," Juice added with a small wave then headed back to the garage.

"Alright, Abel," Laurel said, picking up Thomas and resting him against her left hip, "let's go play."

"I'll let you know what's going on with the car," Gemma began. "If it's something big, I'll give you all a ride to Jax's," she offered.

"Thanks," Laurel said, raising her eyebrows quickly, hoping that it wasn't anything major. With Abel at her side, they left the office and headed for the swing set.

For just over a week Laurel had been settling in to a comfortable routine with the Teller boys and she was really enjoying her new position. It had only taken a few days after she started working for them for Gemma to realize that Laurel was a great fit for the job. Abel and Thomas were quick to warm up to her, she was very good with them without being a pushover, she was understanding of the odd schedule Jax kept, and she didn't ask questions or seem at all interested in the club. Without any objections from Jax, Gemma had informed Laurel that the job was hers for good if she wanted it and of course, Laurel graciously accepted.

By six pm on most nights, Laurel's day ended with Jax coming home and receiving bear hugs from his sons, or with Gemma stopping by to relieve her if Jax happened to be running late. Despite the reputation she seemed to have around Charming, Laurel was starting to see a different side to Gemma that she really liked. On a few separate occasions she had stayed a bit late to have coffee with Gemma before going home, giving her an opportunity to get to know Gemma better. It was during one of these later evenings that Gemma informed Laurel, without going in to too much detail, where the boys' mother was. She tried to hide her shock when hearing that Tara was in prison, but settled a little as Gemma explained that it was an unfortunate misunderstanding that Jax was desperately trying to correct.

As Laurel pushed Thomas in one of the swings and encouraged Abel down one of the slides, she thought she heard footprints then felt someone approaching her from behind. Before she could turn around to see who it was, they spoke up.

"Hello, again," Tig said with more confidence than he had at their first meeting.

Laurel smiled slightly and felt nervous again in his presence. "Hello," she answered cheerfully, looking back at Abel just in time to see him reach the bottom of the slide. "Nice job," she said to him before he rushed back over to carefully climb the few steps up to the slide.

"What are you guys doing here?" Tig asked, looking at her curves through her jean capri's and white tunic. He had seen her as he came out of the clubhouse and recognized her immediately. He hadn't seen her at all since their first meeting and was pleasantly surprised to find her on the lot.

Laurel turned and caught him looking at her waist and traveling downwards. "Car trouble," she answered sharply, which brought Tig's eyes back up to her face. "Figured we'd get it checked out on our way home," she added. Laurel looked ahead and gently pushed Thomas in his swing, being careful not to let him get too high. He was smiling back at her and his neck tensed slightly whenever his momentum shifted.

"Helps to know a few good mechanics," Tig said playfully.

Laurel didn't answer. She simply nodded. She couldn't help but feel nervous and uncomfortable around Tig and it made her feel weird, considering how attractive she found him. Taking a deep breath, she told herself that he was just being nice and in order to feel more comfortable with him, she should try talking to him.

"You guys having a busy day?" she asked, hoping to sound casual.

"No, not really. Not much goin' on," Tig answered, then rested his shoulder against the swing set and crossed his arms. "How 'bout you?" he wondered, giving Thomas a big smile as he let out a "wee" from his swing.

"Abel just finished his swimming lessons and we were about to go home for lunch, but got a little delayed," Laurel explained, referring to the car issued.

"Oh," Tig replied with a small noise.

Laurel looked over and found Tig staring back at her. His piercing blue eyes, although mesmerizing, made her wish she had on another layer of clothing. It wasn't working. She still felt weird around Tig.

As Laurel made eye contact with Tig, he instantly saw something he had never seen before. When she looked at him in the sunlight her eyes, although green, were glowing orange.

"What the hell is with your eyes?" he suddenly asked with concern while leaning in to get a better look at her.

"What do you mean?" Laurel asked, taking a step back and noticing the way that Tig's eyes were focused closely on hers.

"They're," he stopped and held up his right hand, drawing a circle with his index finger. "The colour..." he paused again, not knowing how to describe what he was seeing. They were different than any eyes he'd seen before and while freaking him out a little, they also amazed him.

"Oh," Laurel said, looking away. "You mean the two colours?"

"Yeah," he answered, still staring. "Wow," he whispered.

Laurel was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to hear that. "It's called central heterochromia," she said, referring to the fact that although her eyes were green, she had a ring of orange circling her pupil.

"Jesus, does it hurt?" Tig asked, seeming genuinely uncomfortable and concerned.

Laurel laughed for the first time in his presence and continued to push Abel. "No. It has nothing to do with the functioning of my eyes. It's just the way my eyes are coloured," she explained.

"How the hell do you know that?" Tig asked, wondering if she was being honest with him or just making it up.

Laurel looked at him as if the answer was obvious. "Google," she said with a sly smile.

"Ha," Tig let out loudly, finding Laurel had a spunky side to her.

The rumble of a motorcycle made them both turn their attention to the entrance of the lot. At once, Laurel spotted Jax, recognizing the blue, flannel shirt he wore that morning before he left the house. Not knowing any of the other members of the club besides Tig and now Juice, she had no idea who was following closely behind jax on their own bike.

Tig straightened up at the site of Jax and Chibs and took a step away from Laurel. They had gone to see Jacob Hale about the progress on Charming Heights and if things were still a go ahead on the Sons getting most of the contacts for the project.

Laurel focused her attention back on Thomas and Able who were both watching Jax in awe. After he parked his bike and began striding over towards them, Abel got excited and started towards him, with Laurel cautioning him to be careful while running.

"Hey, little man," Jax said soothingly when he reached Abel and picked him up for a hug. Behind him, Chibs followed Jax towards the swing set where Tig stood, waiting to find out what happened at their meeting with Hale.

"Things still a go?" Tig asked curiously.

"Yeah. Should be startin', beginning'a next month," Jax answered, looking over at Laurel. "What're you guys doin' here?" he asked, not upset but concerned.

"Had a bit of an issue with your car," she began to answer, hoping that Jax wouldn't think she was a careless driver. "Something's wrong with the front wheel. Juice," she paused for a brief second, wondering if she got the name right, "is going to take a look at it."

Chibs stood a few steps behind and to the side of Jax, listening to his president speaking to who he assumed was the nanny Gemma hired to help out while Tara was in prison. He hadn't had to privilege of meeting her yet, but from how Tig and Jax described her, he was curious. Now that he finally saw her, he understood why the guys' eyes grew wide while talking about her. Behind his sunglasses, Chibs appraised Laurel while her attention was on Jax. Her long, curly hair was half up, showing off her slender neck and collar bone, and drawing all of his attention to her bright green eyes. As she spoke to Jax and lifted Thomas out of the swing, she smiled deeply, causing the corner of Chibs' mouth to twitch into his own smile, which he shook off with a slight clearing of his throat and a furrowed brow.

At the sound of a clearing throat, Laurel looked up from Thomas and focused on the man standing behind Jax, that she hadn't really noticed until now. His hard, slightly turned down mouth, thumbs hooked into his belt and eyes hidden behind sunglasses made him look tough and serious. Oddly enough, although he was intimidating, she wasn't overly afraid of him.

"Chibs, this'll Laurel," Jax introduced, remembering that his Sergeant at Arms was standing behind him.

"Hello," Laurel offered first with a smile.

"Hi," Chibs returned shortly, keeping his mouth hard but taking a step forward.

"I gotta talk to Gemma for a minute," Jax informed them. "Tig. Talk to Juice and see what's goin' on with my car," he added then looked at Abel in his arms. "You comin' with me?" To which Abel nodded vigorously. Jax looked back to Laurel. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Laurel nodded and lifted Thomas higher up in her arms. "Okay," she said.

"And wha' about me?" Chibs asked as Tig and Jax both took steps towards the garage and office.

Jax looked back at Chibs and shrugged his shoulders as he raised his eyebrows, suggesting that Chibs do whatever he wanted.

At first, she looked over at Chibs with surprise, not picking up on his accent when they were introduced, then watched as he looked after Jax and smiled to herself, figuring that he didn't want to be left alone with her and finding it funny that perhaps she was the one making him feel uncomfortable and not the other way around. She turned and walked towards the slide where she decided to slowly guide Thomas down, knowing he would get a kick out of doing what his big brother was doing just moments ago. She didn't bother saying anything to Chibs since she believed he would leave to go to the clubhouse or follow Jax. She was surprised when she heard his steps approaching her.

"The lads love this thing," Chibs said, grabbing on to the metal bar of the swing set and remembering when the prospects had first put it up.

Laurel turned to look at Chibs who was watching Thomas with the slightest smile on his previously stern face. "Yeah, it's a great idea," she agreed, preferring to be out here than inside the clubhouse or office. She held onto Thomas's sides and slowly slid him down the slide. A slow, wide grin came onto her face when she watched his face turn to pure joy. She picked him up and enthusiastically asked if he wanted to do it again, and without expecting a reply she lifted him close to the top of the slide again and repeated the process, this time eliciting a giggle out of Thomas and a chuckle from Chibs standing behind her. Laurel turned and looked at Chibs who wore the same happy expression she did and realized with surprise that she actually felt comfortable with him there, unlike the way she felt when Tig was with her.

"So how'r ya likin' the job so far?" Chibs asked, not really knowing why he stayed behind to talk to Laurel but glad that he did. With all of the chaos that Jax was going through with Tara, which was undoubtedly getting to the boys as well, it was nice to see them enjoying themselves and being carefree children again. He knew, from hearing it from Jax and now seeing it for himself, that Laurel had a lot to do with that.

"Great so far," Laurel said, knocking twice on her head so she wouldn't jinx it. They both smiled at the action and looked at each other for a few seconds. When Laurel first spotted Chibs, she hadn't really gotten a good look at his face, she just noticed the hard expression and the strong stature. Now, she saw that he was quite handsome, in an unconventional way. He had a longer, dark, sculptured goatee littered with grey hairs, that framed what looked like soft lips. His hair was longer and slicked back with a bit of shagginess to it that somehow looked polished and not at all untidy. He was still smiling a little at her and she then spotted the scars on both of his cheeks that accentuated his dimples. _Hmm_, she thought.

"Laurel," Gemma called out while approaching them. "Car's fine. Looks like you somehow picked up a shoe and it got jammed into the wheel well," she explained._  
_

Laurel rolled her eyes slightly and let out a sigh, feeling stupid for running over a shoe without noticing. "Good," she said with relief. "Guess we can get going," she added to Thomas with a bounce, who was playing with her hair. She turned back to Chibs and smiled. "It was nice meeting you," she said honestly.

"You too. Take care," he answered her.

Laurel walked with Gemma back to the office with Chibs looking on, feeling the slightest sense of disappointment that she left so quickly. The guys were right, she really was beautiful and not at all done up, which he found appealing.

"Hmm," he said to himself and headed for the clubhouse.

* * *

"I don't know, it's weird," Laurel said as she traced a small section of the seam on the side of her jeans.

"Why is it weird? There's nothing wrong with finding someone attractive," her cousin contradicted her on the other end.

"Yeah, but I shouldn't find him attractive. He freaks me out," Laurel went on, remembering the uneasy feeling she always felt when she was around Tig. After she got home that night, she settled in and called her cousin, Beth, feeling the need to touch base with her family.

Beth laughed on the other end, surprising Laurel. "You know you don't have to date everyone you're attracted to, right? Don't you remember Robbie? My god, I was obsessed with him! But there was no way in hell I would've actually considering going out with him. He was just fun to look at and get excited about." She paused, thinking about how much she liked the bad boy at her high school and how giddy she got whenever she saw him. "Just have fun looking at him. It's fun to get those butterflies," Beth went on.

Laurel thought about what Beth was saying and pictured Tig. Yes, she did find him very striking and there was something about the way he carried himself that added to his appeal, but at the same time, it frightened her. "Yeah, I guess you're right," Laurel said, wondering if it was butterflies or anxiety that she felt when she saw Tig. Suddenly, she thought of the way she felt while Chibs was around and how different it was compared to being near Tig. During their brief encounter, Chibs hadn't made her feel like he was undressing her with his eyes, although he very well could have been, and she didn't feel uneasy about being alone with him. She laughed quietly, realizing that she found both of them handsome.

"What's so funny?" Beth asked, picking up the laugh on her end.

Laurel shook her head. "Nothing," she lied, wondering if for some reason her taste in men was changing.

* * *

**Please review and excuse the mistakes I probably missed along the way.**


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter was going to be extremely long and I wasn't quite finished it yet, so I figured I'd cut it off where I did and post it as its own chapter. It's not too exciting, though and I apologize for that. Thank you for sticking with me and waiting patiently as I slowly update this story! And again, please let me know what you think. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sons of Anarchy characters.**

* * *

She held a hand against her brow, shading her eyes from the sun and could feel a content smile soften her face as she sauntered towards the clubhouse from the garage office, holding onto a brown envelope addressed to Jax. With Clay away in prison, if only temporarily, she felt like she could finally breathe again and enjoyed the freedom of walking across the lot like she was owned it. Not having to pretend she wanted to be with that animal took a huge weight off of her shoulders and her life was starting to, in its own weird way, get back to normal. Besides Tara being in prison and watching Jax aching to get her out, Gemma's life seemed quite manageable at the moment.

She recognized her sons voice as soon as she opened the clubhouse door, but his deep, smooth voice prevented her from making out what he was saying. As she took a few steps further inside, she spotted him standing next to the pooltable with a pretty blonde who she soon recognized as Lyla. Surprised to see her there, Gemma smiled, then halted, quickly feeling a vice grip on her heart as she remembered that Opie, the man she thought of as her son for as long as she could remember, was dead and gone. She swallowed the lump in her throat and continued forward, putting on a brave face for Lyla and Jax.

"Lyla," Gemma called out happily. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she got closer.

Lyla turned around to find Gemma approaching her with out stretched arms and a look on her face that she didn't often see on Gemma. "Hi Gemma," Lyla greeted her. "I just came by to thank Jax for everything he's doing to help us out," she answered while in Gemma's tight embrace. Lyla appreciated the concern she was showing for her but she had always felt a little tense around Gemma, even when Opie was by her side. And the fact that Gemma was genuinely glad to see her shocked her to some degree.

"How are the kids doing?" Gemma asked as she pulled away from Lyla.

Lyla put on a small, unconvincing smile and looked down before answering. "They have hard days when they really miss Opie and Donna," she said through a deep exhale, "and it's taking them some time getting used to me as their mother, but they're doing well," she finished with a nod as she paused, taking a look over at Jax and smiling. "And the fact that Jax is setting us up with a home and me with work is making things a lot easier."

Gemma watched the pained look in Lyla's eyes and hugged her tightly again. "You just remember that you're family and we always take care of family," she said firmly, pulling back and looking her right in the eyes to make sure Lyla understood. "You hear me?"

Lyla nodded. "Thank you."

"And how are you? How's the leg?" Gemma asked conversationally, trying to lighten the mood.

"Good," Lyla answered, raising the hem of her skirt to reveal a fading pink, circular scar that shone as it caught the light. "It's healing pretty nicely," she added, thankful that the gunshot hadn't done any serious damage to her leg.

Gemma's eyes drifted towards Jax and she then felt the smooth envelope against her fingers. "Jax," she began with a small shake of her head, "this came for you in the office," she explained and handed over the envelope.

Jax stepped closer to Gemma and took the envelope from her outstretched hand. Stepping back, he looked at Lyla with a smile and put a hand on her shoulder, trying in his own way to reassure her that everything he was doing to help her out was his pleasure. His hand fell back to his side as he walked away to open the envelope in private, needing a minute to compose himself after her surprise visit, which brought back a lot of memories and guilt concerning Opie. Jax opened the envelope and fumbled to grasp the single sheet of paper inside. He quickly looked over at Gemma when he heard her laughing at part of a conversation he couldn't hear, then turned his attention back to the paper in his hand. His eyebrows pulled together as he tried to make sense of what he was looking at. On a mostly blank piece of white paper read the word "soon" across the middle in thick, blank marker.

"What the fuck is this?" Jax called out to Gemma without looking up, more in confusion than anger. Instead, he looked at the corners and turned over the envelope to see if there was a return address. There wasn't one. There also wasn't a postage stamp, telling Jax that it was hand delivered instead of sent in the mail. "Where'd this come from?" he yelled even louder.

"Don't know, it was just mixed in with the office mail," Gemma answered, growing concerned with the look on Jax's face. "Why, what is it?" she asked, walking towards him.

Not knowing what this note was supposed to mean, he turned it over then looked inside hoping to find some other clue to its meaning. Who the hell sent him this message? What was this supposed to mean? And then it hit him. Jax felt his stomach drop and a cold shiver went through him, followed by a warm rush all over his body. Pope's crew. The Niners. This had to be some sort of retaliation for Pope's death. Jax suddenly had difficulty breathing as he thought of how Pope vindictively went after Tig's daughter after his own daughter had accidentally been killed. Were the Niners going to go after his own family as payback? His boys!

"Chibs!" he called out loudly as the thought of his sons in danger made him sick to his stomach. He took out his phone and quickly dialled his house, desperately trying to get a hold of Laurel to make sure they were okay. Four rings later and there was no answer. Tara's voice came on the line and he hung up, knowing that leaving a message and waiting for a response wouldn't be fast enough. He needed to know they were safe, now. "Chibs!" he cried again, this time with more urgency in his voice.

"What?" Chibs answered from down the hallway, walking towards him.

Jax dialled his house again, finding the same results as last time. "Get Tig," he seethed with wild eyes, shoving the paper into Chibs' chest when he finally reached him.

Chibs looked at the paper, not understanding what Jax was trying to tell him. "What is this?" he asked blankly, sensing the panic in Jax.

"I don' know," Jax answered with wide eyes, "but there's no answer at the house," he told Chibs, knowing that he could trust his Sergeant at Arms to understood what he was thinking.

"Gimme a minute," Chibs answered, then went back down the hallway to find Tig in his dorm room.

Jax wiped his hand over his mouth and approached Gemma. "I gotta go check on the boys. You call me if anything happens," he instructed his mother, who was looking at him with worry and confusion.

"Jackson, what's going on?" She tried grabbing onto his arms but he was pulling away and heading for the door. Tig, Chibs and Phil caught up and followed behind him.

"Call me if anything happens," he yelled impatiently over his shoulder to Gemma.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, insanely long chapter, I apologize but I didn't quite want to break it up. Thank you for all of your reviews and I hope you like this new chapter. Hang in there. The next one will probably take a while to post.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sons of Anarchy characters. I also wanted to give credit to Walk Off the Earth and their song "Gang of Rhythm," which I quoted in this chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Lowell, more meolk pwease," Abel asked.

Laurel smiled and looked at Abel. His blonde hair was disheveled and he had a streak of ketchup just above his upper lip. She stood up and gladly went to the fridge to get more milk for him, appreciating the manners that Jax and Tara had instilled in him already.

"Here you go," she said while filling his Cookie Monster cup half full. Looking over at Thomas, she saw that his bottle was still quite full of homo milk and he was clumsily working on his bowl of applesauce. She grinned at the sight of them and thought of how cute both Abel and Thomas were.

Just as Laurel sat back down, Abel quickly spun to the side looking towards the living room at the sound of a motorcycle somewhere in their neighbourhood. Laurel realized what he was focused on and cocked her head to the side trying to determine if it was in fact a motorcycle or perhaps a large truck riding around without a muffler. She wondered for a moment if it could be Jax, then gently shook her head as she dismissed the thought, knowing that he rarely stopped by the house during the day.

"Keep eating, buddy," Laurel said, reaching out and gently rubbing her thumb across Abel's elbow.

Abel adjusted himself in his seat and took a big bite out of his grilled cheese sandwich but kept his head angled towards the front door. She watched him then, as he was completely mesmerized by the loud rumbling outside, and wondered when Abel would start riding his own motorcycle, which he would no doubt be doing, judging by how much he idolized his father.

She realized that it was a motorcycle, or perhaps a few of them, when the vibrations grew stronger and louder as the bikes got closer to the house. Laurel looked down and to the side, waiting to hear if the engines would stop or grow fainter as they continued down the street. Sure enough they cut out right outside of the house and she heard what she assumed were kick stands being lowered and helmets being clicked off before loud, quick footsteps thundered on the pavement, making her heartbeat pound in her ears at the urgency of their pace. Whoever was outside was obviously in a hurry and more than likely upset about something. Laurel stood up and smiled at Abel, telling him to continue eating, before taking a few steps towards the living room, anticipating pounding knocks at the door.

The jangle of keys made her stop and she watched the doorknob twist before it was completely unlocked, eliciting a muffled curse from behind the door. A second later the doorknob successfully turned and the door swung inward, revealing a wide eyed Jax staring back at her.

"You guys okay?" Jax asked breathlessly as he rushed into the room and bumped into Laurel to get into the kitchen.

She watched him enter the kitchen and place his hand on Abel's shoulder then walk over to give Thomas a kiss on his forehead. Laurel turned back to look at the door and found Chibs, Tig and a huge, curly haired man enter the house. "We're fine. Are you?" she asked with concern.

"Why the hell weren't you answerin' the phone?" he asked quietly but seriously, trying not to upset his boys.

"We were outside playing in the backyard," she began, wondering why he was so upset and feeling like she had done nothing wrong. "I forgot to grab the phone on our way out but didn't want to leave them alone outside to go get it. Why? Whats going on?" she asked, looking towards the other three men who all had an odd mixture of relief and fear on their faces.

"Nothing, just," Jax paused, wondering how to explain his panic to Laurel without worrying her in the process. She didn't need to know anything about the shit they had themselves wrapped up in and he knew that she wanted to be kept in the dark about their business. Jax looked up at Laurel, who looked back and forth between himself and the other Sons, waiting for an answer. "Everything's fine, there was just," he stopped, making up a lie on the spot. "We heard that there were a few robberies in the neighbourhood and that they hadn't found the guys yet," he explained with the calmest voice he could muster. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay." He looked over Laurel's shoulder at Chibs, whose eyebrow was cocked above the rim of his sunglasses, and he could clearly hear the Scots' voice in his head sarcastically saying "really?"

Laurel stared skeptically at Jax for a few seconds then looked over her shoulder, finding Tig leaning against a wall, a few feet behind the Son she didn't know, who was perched on the edge of the couches armrest. Chibs stood a few feet behind her, almost on gaurd, with his hands crossed in front if his waist, one hand holding on to the wrist of the other. "And _all_ you guys needed to come check on us?" she asked, raising her tone and an eyebrow in disbelief.

The left side of Chibs' mouth pulled into a smirk at her comment and her tone, and he realized that this was the second time she had caught him off guard and made him smile since meeting her. _This ones got some spunk_, he thought to himself as he looked over to Tig and Phil, who were also amused by her comment. He rarely witnessed a woman, besides Gemma and Tara, calling Jax's bluff.

"We're big on family," Jax stated bluntly with a small smile, thinking that Laurel was more clever than he was giving her credit for.

"Well, we're fine," Laurel said, approaching the kitchen. "We'll stay inside and I'll keep the doors locked. And I'll call if I hear anything funny," she assured Jax who was staring at Abel.

His phone rang suddenly and Jax straightened, diving his hand inside his jeans pocket to retrieve his cell. "Yeah," he said into the phone when Gemma's number showed up on the display screen. He walked into the living room then, feeling anxious and needing to move.

"You told me to call if anything happened," Gemma began, still feeling confused about Jax's instructions since she had no idea what was going on and didn't like being left in the dark. "Juice spotted a black SUV parked outside the lot about 20 minutes ago," she paused, while Jax paced in a small line. "He went to check it out but it took off before he reached it. Didn't get a good look at 'em. Windows were all tinted," she finished.

"Shit," Jax grunted into the phone, making Laurel's ears perk up from the kitchen. "Alright, call me if they come back," he angrily instructed.

"Jax, wha," he cut Gemma off by closing his phone and looked at Chibs.

"Black SUV was parked outside the garage. It's gotta be the Niners," he all but seethed.

"What d'ye wanna do Jackie?" Chibs asked quietly as he walked closer to Jax. Phil and Tig followed his lead and entered the huddle.

Jax thought of who would have taken over the Niners now, since the recent leaders had all been killed off quickly by Pope. "August," he realized as he thought of who was left to call the shots on Pope's behalf. "I gotta talk to August. See if he knows anything about what's goin' on," he explained, feeling like he had a good enough rapport with him that he'd be able to settle this easily. Jax looked over into the kitchen and saw his boys eating their lunches. Although he had hope that he could get this straightened out quickly, he still didn't like the idea of them being vulnerable at the house with just Laurel to protect them. "Tig, you and Phil stay here and make sure they're safe," he instructed, lifting his chin quickly over to the kitchen to his boys. "Chibs, you're with me."

Laurel heard Jax enter the kitchen behind her and she turned to find him just starting to kneel down next to Abel. "We're gotta get back to work, but," he paused to stand up, "Tig and Phil are going to stick around in case those guys come by the house," he explained.

"Jax, really, we'll be fine," Laurel tried to tell him. She looked over into the living room and caught sight of Tig, causing her heart to suddenly pound hard in her chest. The thought of Tig sticking around the house made her nervous and she wasn't looking forward to being uncomfortable all afternoon.

"I'd feel more comfortable if they stayed until they find the guys. I'd stay myself, but I got things that need to get done at the garage," Jax explained, trying to make Laurel feel at ease with his demand.

Laurel looked at Jax and saw that he truly was worried. She wasn't completely convinced that there were dangerous men running lose in the neighbourhood but decided that if it was true, she'd rather have the guys around just in case. "Alright," she reluctantly said as she leaned back in her chair.

Jax smiled at her then kissed both Thomas and Abel before returning to the living room to speak quietly to Tig and Phil. Laurel leaned forward and glanced into the living room, catching sight of Jax and the others, obviously discussing something that they weren't willing to tell her. She was fairly certain that it had something dangerous to do with their club, and not the ridiculous story Jax made up about robberies, which would explain why Jax was so adamant about leaving guards behind. She tried to make out anything they were saying but their deep voices and lowered tones made their words indiscernible.

A movement a few steps behind Jax made her look towards Chibs whose body was facing her, with his head turned to the left, listening to his brothers. She took a good look at him and suddenly felt disappointed that he wasn't staying at the house instead of Tig. She'd much rather be detained in a house with someone she felt comfortable with than with someone who made her feel on edge. She looked over at Tig, once again feeling uneasy and realized that Jax was right in leaving him at the house. He looked like much more of a threat to an intruder than Chibs did. At the thought, Laurel smiled and turned back to Abel, but not before Tig caught what he assumed was a flirtatious little smirk meant just for him.

"We're headin' out now," Jax called out to Laurel, gaining her attention again. He lowered his head in a curt nod and added "You'll be safe," then looked at Tig and grabbed his shoulder, giving him a small shove along with a look that told him to keep his boys safe at all costs.

"Bye," Laurel said in acknowledgement, then whispered to Abel, "say bye bye."

"Bye, bye," Abel repeated, shifting in his chair and waving at Jax.

"Bye boys," Jax answered, and turned to Chibs, raising his eyebrows. "Let's go," he said eagerly before he led the way to the front door.

As soon as the door closed, Tig turned his attention to Laurel at the kitchen table. With a wicked smile, he looked her up and down thinking, _T__his should be fun._

* * *

"Phil, did you want anything to drink?" Laurel asked. She was leaning with both hands up against the wall leading in to the living room, watching Phil wrestle with Abel and tickle Thomas on the floor. She smiled at the squeals all three of them were making and realized quickly after meeting him that Phil reminded her of her Uncle Craig, who she adored. He was always a joker but was a big softie when she needed someone to talk to. They even had similar brown, curly hair.

"No, I'm good. Thanks," he happily answered before getting tackled by Abel from behind, knocking his glasses farther down his nose.

Laurel smiled at the sight of a toddler knocking such a large man off guard and pushed herself off of the wall, spinning quickly towards the sink where a sink full of dishes awaited her attention. What she also found was Tig leaning back in a chair, holding onto a bottle of beer with his eyes clearly focused on her ass.

"You good?" Laurel asked a little forcefully, hoping to let him know that she caught him staring at her. The obvious attention he was showing her already was making her nervous and although she tried her best to convince herself that she didn't like it, her rapid heart rate told her otherwise.

Tig looked up slowly at her blushing face and smiled. "Yeah, I'm good," he answered sweetly as he raised his bottle just off of the table in thanks.

With a halted breath, Laurel made her way to the sink deciding to keep her attention focused on the dishes instead of worrying about Tig watching her from behind. She turned on the small radio on the corner of the counter and adjusted the volume so she could still hear the boys in the living room. She plunged the stopper into the bottom of the sink and filled it with hot water and dish soap, being careful to bend her legs completely and turn her back away from Tig as she bent down under the sink to retrieve the bottle of soap. She could feel his eyes on her and didn't want to purposely give him something to look at.

Taking a swig of his beer, Tig sat back in his chair and fixed his eyes on Laurel. She hadn't turned around at all since she reached the sink and he figured it was because he was making her nervous. He could tell he had that affect on her, and on most women, and it gave his ego an extra boost. Not that he minded the view from behind. Her black, knee length shorts showed off her defined calf muscles and the silver buttons on her back pockets brought his attention to her curvy backside. She wore an army green, cotton tank top with strips of lace softening the thick straps, revealing her toned arms. _This one takes care of herself, _he told himself. As he watched her, he picked up on little things he hadn't noticed before that were driving him crazy and making him want her even more. He took a slow, deep breath and felt a stirring in his lower stomach as he watched her doing the simplist of chores, knowing that she had no idea how sexy she was being. It was all too much. The way her arm muscles tensed when she scrubed the grilled cheese off of the frying pan, causing her ponytail to gently bounce across her back. The way her shoulders were a dark shade of pink from being out in the sun, making him want to walk over and feel the warmth he knew was radiating off of her skin. The way she was leaning up against the counter mostly on her left hip, her right leg crossed in front of the other, resting her toes on top of her left foot.

Tig raised his left leg and adjusted his position, trying to relieve some of the pressure growing between his legs. The sound brought a glance back from Laurel and Tig caught her eye. She blinked quickly and looked away, turning to look at the microwave.

"Shoot," she muttered under her breath and reached for a dish towel when she realized it was almost 1:30. "Abel, Thomas, time for a nap," she said apologetically as she walked by Tig on her way to the living room.

"Awww," Abel whined, hanging his head in defeat as Laurel approached him. She scooped up Thomas who was trying to scurry away then held out her hand to Abel, who refused to look up at her.

"Phil will still be here when you wake up," she said, looking at Phil to confirm that he would still be at the house in the next hour or so. He smiled and nodded in agreement then stood up, exaggerating a sore back.

"I'll be here, buddy. I just need to take a break cause you're too strong," Phil announced as he placed his hands on his lower back and arched backwards, causing Laurel to wonder if he was just trying to make Abel feel good or secretly needed a rest after playing on the ground with him for so long.

"Okay," Abel said quickly and cheerfully, grabbing Laurel's hand. She looked over and smiled her thanks at Phil as he made his way over to sit on the couch. She heard an exhausted "ooph" as Phil dropped onto the couch just as they entered the hallway leading to the boys' rooms.

* * *

She resumed her position at the sink once the boys went down for their naps, determined to keep busy while Tig and Phil were still there to watch over them. Phil took the opportunity to relax and watch some TV, accepting a cola from Laurel when she asked if he'd have anything for the second time. To her disappointment, Tig left the confines of the kitchen chair and currently stood resting against the kitchen counter, only a few strides from her. She had thought carefully about what Beth had told her about just admiring Tig without actually doing anything about it but her conflicting feelings about him confused her. She wasn't used to liking being stared at, but having Tig do it made it exciting somehow. And unnerving. She also remembered what her mother had told her when she was just starting to receive attention from boys as a teenager._ "If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, don't trust them. Trust that gnawing feeling in your gut. It's trying to tell you something."_

The plucking of guitar strings instantly caused Laurel's eyes to close and she tilted her head back slightly, smiling contently. "I got this old guitar. The strings are rusty but it's all I need," a raspy voice on the radio sang out, making her smile even wider. She opened her eyes and looked down at the plate she was washing, not caring at all if Tig was watching her slightly rocking her hips back and forth along with the music.

Tig almost moaned as Laurel started to sway ever so slightly to the music playing in the kitchen. He looked down and noticed that her foot was bouncing along with the beat of the music and he inhaled deeply, thinking about how much this woman was driving him crazy. Laurel began to hum along with the melody, causing Tig to slide a few inches against the counter, putting him within arms length of her.

"Didn't think you were into this hippie music," Tig admitted, again watching her sway.

Laurel scoffed slightly at him classifying it as "hippie music," then realized that Tig probably didn't recognize anything that was released within the last decade. She shrugged her shoulder and smiled to herself. "I like anything that makes me hum," she confessed, knowing that there wasn't any one particular style of music she preferred. If it caught her attention and made her want to sing or hum along, she liked it.

Tig lowered his head slightly while keeping his eyes fixed on Laurel, taking her statement as innuendo. He smiled and let out a low groan. "I'd like to make you hum," he said, almost under his breath.

Laurel grimaced and furrowed her brow, not knowing if he intended for her to hear that remark or not. _Seriously?_ she thought, wanting to move away after that smarmy comment. She took a deep breath and stood up straight, deciding to ignore the remark and how Tig seemed to be inching closer to her on the counter.

"So, where did you guys hear about these robberies?" she asked, trying to change the subject and possibly find out what exactly was going on.

"Oh, you know," Tig said slowly, pausing to push himself off of the counter and stand directly behind Laurel. "It's a small town, and word travels fast."

"You're right about that," she laughed awkwardly, feeling Tig's breath on her shoulder. She knew that he was right behind her but she kept her eyes forward, not wanting to look at him. Laurel slowly brought her shoulder blades together and moved her ear closer to her right shoulder, feeling that timid and tense sensation she got whenever a bee was hovering too close to her ear. She didn't like him being so close and knew right then that no matter how sexy she may have found him, she wasn't interested in Tig. In fact, she was a little afraid of him.

Just as she worked up the nerve to tell him to take a step back, Laurel quickly looked down when a flash of silver entered her vision. She found a pair of strong, weathered, silver ringed hands reach out, palms gripping onto the edge of the counter on either side of her, boxing her in. Her heartbeat sped up and to her surprise, actually hurt her chest a little. Refusing to let him intimidate her or encourage this attention from him, Laurel spun around and came face to face with Tig.

"What are you doing?" she asked bluntly, noticing how his blue eyes travelled to her lips. His hips were bent forward, resting his weight comfortably on his arms and his left leg, creating a pocket of space between their bodies while bringing their faces only inches within each other. She could smell the beer on his breath as he very slowly leaned in closer to her.

"Nothin'," he answered with a smirk, meeting her eyes.

Laurel's heart was racing from being both so close to those amazing blue eyes and from the unwanted advance. As if out of instinct, her right hand flew up and firmly planted itself on Tig's chest, making a small thud as it landed on his leather cut. He smiled and exhaled sharply, assuming that she was about to grab hold and bring him closer. Taking this as a sign to continue he leaned in again, only to meet resistance. He furrowed his brow and looked down at his chest, not understanding what she was doing.

"You know what, Tig?" Laurel found herself saying calmly but confidently. "I think you're really sexy," she went on, causing Tig to smile and lean in further. "But you scare the shit out of me," she added firmly, stopping Tig. "And I'm not into guys who scare me."

Standing so close to her, Tig looked Laurel carefully in the eyes and realized that she meant every word she just said. And if that wasn't enough, her hand firmly pushing against his chest really sent the message home. Not being one to ever force himself on a woman, Tig pulled away and took a few steps backwards towards the living room, keeping his eyes on Laurel who was watching him as well. He shook his head and grabbed a new bottle of beer from the fridge before turning around and leaving the kitchen.

Laurel took a painfully slow, deep breath and huffed it out before turning around to the sink again. She held onto the edge of the counter with both hands and closed her eyes, feeling relieved that Tig backed off and hopefully got the message.

* * *

She rolled her eyes before closing them and let out a loud sigh as she stood up from the couch at the sound of keys at the front door. It had been a little over four hours since Jax and Chibs left and she was more than glad that they had finally returned. Jax entered the front door calmly, not at all like he had done earlier in the day. Abel ran to him as soon as he stepped inside.

"Arghh," he growled as he hugged Abel tightly. "Everything okay?" he asked Laurel then looked over at Tig, who was slouched in a reclining chair.

"Everything's fine," Laurel answered, knowing that Tig probably wouldn't respond. He hadn't said much of anything since she pushed him away earlier in the kitchen and when he did speak, he gave short answers with a bitter undertone.

"So what happened?" Phil asked.

Jax looked at Laurel then to Phil. "Uh," he began, then looked back over at Laurel.

"And suddenly I'm thirsty," she said, not waiting to be asked to leave the room.

When she was out of the room, Jax lowered his voice. "It wasn't the Niners. August swore to it. But he's gonna look into it and see if any of his guys know of anyone havin' a beef with us," he explained.

"Can we trust him?" Tig asked.

"Yeah, we can," Jax assured confidently. "You guys can head out. I'm gonna stick around here," he instructed, wanting to be home with his boys for the rest of the night.

"Alright, Laurel," Gemma said while walking through the front door. "Get going. I'm taking care of my boys tonight," she ordered playfully. Jax had filled her in on what was going on and she insisted that she stay with them for the night, in case Jax had to take off again suddenly.

Laurel peaked her head around the corner when she heard Gemma. "You sure? It's not six yet," she questioned, although she would gladly leave early after the awkward day she had.

"I'm sure," Gemma answered, tossing her purse beside the couch. "Bye," she said, drawing the word out to stretch into two syllables.

Laurel smiled and gathered up her bag, being sure to avoid Tig as she did so.

"Come on, I'll walk you out," Jax said, lowering Abel to the ground. "Be right back," he whispered to his son before patting him on the backside, encouraging him to go play.

Laurel said her goodbyes to Thomas and Abel, giving hugs to both of them, then thanked Phil for his help with the boys, declaring that it was nice meeting him. She almost ignored Tig completely but decided to be the bigger person. "Bye Tig," she said plainly, then asked Gemma once more if she was sure that she wanted her to take off early.

"Yes. Go," Gemma instructed, swinging her head towards the door.

"Thanks for understanding about leavin' Tig and Phil here today. It was just a precaution," Jax said as he and Laurel got outside. "Haven't heard if they caught the guys yet though." He decided that the threat of dangerous men loose in the area was a good enough excuse to have his guys watch the house again on short notice.

"Oh," Laurel said, still not totally convinced. "Well, I'm sure they will."

"Look, I know it probably seemed like I was over reacting but when it comes to my family," he paused, shaking his head, "I don't like takin' chances."

"No, I understand," Laurel answered sincerely.

"We'll make sure you're safe, too," Jax added, knowing that they still didn't know who sent the message and that, although she wasn't involved in anything the club did, she was one of their own.

"Thanks," she said with an appreciative smile.

"Alright," he said, stepping forward and giving Laurel a quick hug, thankful that she was so good with his sons and understanding of the craziness of the day. "Chibs," he called out when he pulled away, making Laurel wonder what. Jax was up to.

Several seconds later, Chibs stepped outside. "Yeah, Jackie?" he asked.

"Make sure Laurel gets home safely, alright?" Jax told him, wanting to be sure that whoever was behind the threat wasn't going to go after Laurel.

"Right," Chibs answered simply before stepping onto the walk way and reaching into his pocket for his keys.

"Jax, I'll be fine," Laurel told him, thinking that his concern wasn't necessary.

"Chibs is following you home. I'll see you tomorrow," he told her, not waiting for a reply. He turned and walked into his house, leaving Chibs and Laurel in the driveway.

She exhaled loudly through her nose. "Okay, well I live just a few blocks away on," she was about to tell him where she lived but Chibs cut her off before she got the chance.

"No need t' give me directions," he said quietly, shaking his head. "I'll be right behind ye."

"Okay," she answered, thinking _If you say so._

* * *

Gemma sat down on the couch next to Tig, looking him over carefully, knowing he was brooding even though he hadn't said a word to her since she arrived. She'd known him far too long to know that she should intervene when he sat quietly, stroking his goatee.

"Don't think she's your type, Tiggy" Gemma said playfully, taking a guess at what he was upset about. She had witnessed the awkward goodbye between him and Laurel as she left for the night and was pretty certain that Tig had his eye on her. She'd question his sexuality if he didn't. But what she also knew was that Laurel had no interest in getting involved with the club beyond being Jax's nanny.

"What are you talkin' about, Gem?" Tig asked, irritated but also wanting to know what she meant. He was still, not quite pissed, but annoyed that Laurel shot him down. He wasn't used to being turned down when he really wanted a woman.

"Laurel wants nothing to do with the club. I'm guessing that includes getting involved with one of you guys," Gemma explained, placing her elbow on the back of the couch and resting her head in her hand.

Tig smiled and nodded into his lap, taking Gemma's warning as a challenge. "Ahh, Gemma," he said smoothly and placed his hand on her knee. "It's all about the chase for me," he announced with a devilish smile.

Feeling her weight shift as Tig stood up from the couch, Gemma watched him walk away with a cocky swagger that had her worried. She felt torn between wanting Tig to be happy, if Laurel was what he truly wanted, and feeling worried that Tig's advances, if they were unwanted, would drive Laurel away, leaving Abel and Thomas without their nanny.

* * *

Parked in her designated space, Laurel looked into her rear view mirror before turning off her car. She watched Chibs carefully walk his motorcycle backwards next to the sidewalk in front of her apartment building then fiddle with the strap on his helmet. _Does he have__ to come in too?_ she thought. She grabbed her purse and got out of her car, using the key fob to lock the doors, then walked towards Chibs through the parking lot.

Chibs got off of his bike and removed his helmet and gloves before Laurel reached him. She looked at him like she had a question she was fighting the urge to ask. "What?" he asked, coaxing her to speak.

"Was it really robbers that had Jax so freaked out today?" Laurel asked with raised eyebrows, clearly thinking _Come on, really?_

Chibs looked down at his boots and smiled, finding her curiousness endearing. Before answering, he slowly began to nod his head then looked up at Laurel, taking a second to admire her. Loose wisps of hair were blowing across her cheeks and her eyes were bright in the late afternoon sunlight. _Christ, she's pretty,_ he caught himself thinking. Finally, he sat down on his bike and folded his arms across his chest, nodding firmly. "Yeah, that's what it was," he told her. "Jax just wants t' make sure his family's safe," he went on to explain.

Laurel didn't respond at all for several seconds. Instead, she looked at Chibs' casual stance against his bike and his crossed arms and thought of how guarded he looked, while not at all mean. She gave him a crooked smile and straightened up. "Well, thanks for making sure I got home safely," she said, then turned away from Chibs. She made it a few steps towards the entrance to her apartment before she stopped and turned back around. He was still sitting on his bike, watching her. _No gnawing feeling_, she noticed. "Hey," Laurel called out before she could stop herself, "did you wanna come up for coffee?" she asked him, throwing her thumb back in the direction of her building. After an entire afternoon dealing with a pissy Tig and hardly talking at all, she felt like unwinding and wasn't quite in the mood to be alone just yet.

Shaking his head gently, Chibs stood up from his bike. "No, thank ye, but I gotta get back to Jax's," he apologized, feeling oddly flattered by her invitation.

"Alright," she answered with a smile and shrug, feeling slightly relieved that he declined her offer. As soon as she asked him she realized that she had basically just asked a complete stranger up to her apartment, which she _never_ did and worried that he got the wrong impression when she offered him "coffee."

"Which one is yer apartment?" Chibs asked, breaking into her thoughts.

"What? Why?" Laurel wondered.

"Wanna make sure ye get in okay," he explained.

"Right," Laurel nodded then turned to her building. "It's that one right there," she said, pointing out her window. "Third one in on the second floor."

Chibs looked at the building and squinted. The sun was starting to set just behind the building and he wanted to make sure he knew which one was hers. He took off his sunglasses and blinked a few times, adjusting to the flood of light then spotted her window. "Alrigh'. When you get in, go to the window and give me wave," he instructed before looking at Laurel.

"Okay," Laurel agreed, then stopped, tilting her head slightly to the side. It was the first time she had seen his eyes since they met and she was surprised by how striking they were. Laurel's mouth slowly pulled into a smile as she stared at him.

"What?" Chibs asked, feeling uncomfortable with the odd look Laurel gave him.

Her smile grew wider, parting her lips and revealing her teeth, and she knew her cheeks had turned red on her. Feeling a little embarrassed for getting caught staring at him, she kept her eyes fixed on Chibs' and just barely shook her head. "Nothing. Just," she paused, surprised by how much more handsome she found him, just by seeing his eyes. "I like your eyes," she kindly admitted, then turned around and walked away, waving when she reached the main door.

He laughed quietly to himself after Laurel walked away and looked to the ground before grinning. It wasn't every day a beautiful woman sincerely complimented him, on his looks no less, and he didn't know how to take it. Standing up quickly from his bike with a deep inhale, he put his glasses back on and grabbed for his helmet and gloves while keeping his eyes on Laurel's window. A moment later, Laurel parted the curtains and waved down at Chibs sitting on his bike. He nodded his response to her letting him know that she make it in safely then looked away.

"Get a grip, man," he told himself, before taking off down the street.


	6. Chapter 6

**Writers block, self doubt and a lack of time definitely got in the way of finishing this chapter. Once again, I wrote most of it then realized it was going to be way too long. So, in order to make it doable, I cut the chapter and hope to get the next one out shortly. a month is way too long to wait between updates. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and thank you for sticking with me!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sons of Anarchy characters.**

* * *

From the looks of her, she didn't seem overly conniving. Sure, Gemma was definitely the mama bear type that would do anything to look out for the ones she loved, but now Laurel wasn't so convinced that that always meant doing the right thing. As she looked her over, Laurel felt, for the first time since meeting her, that Gemma might actually be hiding something.

Laurel stood at the kitchen counter stirring lemonade and watched Gemma through the kitchen window lifting Thomas up toward the sky, making her grandson giggle and squeal every time he was hoisted into the air. She focused on her for a second then shook her head, not wanting to believe the worst of the woman she had grown to know and enjoy so much recently.

"Jaaax," she heard Chibs bellow from the front door, smiling when she caught the accent.

"He's out back," she called out in response.

Chibs rounded the corner into the kitchen, leaning his head around first when he heard Laurel's voice in response to his greeting. "Oh, Laurel," he began with a smile. "How are ya?"

"Good, Chibs. How are you?" she answered cheerfully, watching Chibs place a box wrapped in superhero themed paper onto a table with a few other presents. He answered her with a quick "fine" then raised his sunglasses to rest on his head and entered the kitchen, stopping a few feet behind Laurel to look out the window she stood in front of. "They're almost all set up out there," Laurel added.

"And I see they've got ye doin the dirty work," Chibs said jokingly, seeing several empty containers of concentrated lemonade spread out on the counter.

"Yeah," she chuckled. "Hey, how'd you get out of setting up?" she asked jokingly, since Tig and Juice were currently in the backyard helping out.

"Ah, me back isna what it used to be," Chibs joked with a quick wink and a small smirk that dimpled his right cheek.

Laurel smiled in return, taking comfort in the way she could joke around with Chibs.

Chibs stepped over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, noticing the platters of fruit and packages of hot dogs and hamburger patties neatly stacked to the side. He moved back towards Laurel and opened the bottle, taking a sip and leaning against the counter a few feet from her. He looked down at Laurel who was looking out the window with an absent smile on her face.

"He's really excited about today," Laurel observed as she watched Abel run around the backyard between Jax and Tig.

"That lad deserves a fun day after all he's been through," Chibs agreed, recalling what a chaotic life Abel had had in his short three years.

Laurel turned to look at Chibs and smiled in agreement, knowing about the medical issues Abel had had so far in his life but kept in the dark about the whole ordeal in Ireland. She turned back to the window and found Abel, placing a folding chair under a long rectangular table with Jax right behind him to help. He had been going on and on about his birthday party all week long and Laurel knew it had a lot to do with the fact that he would get to spend the whole day with Jax. She felt honoured that she had been invited to the party but was also a little nervous about it. She was pretty sure she'd be meeting a lot of the other members of SAMCRO she hadn't met yet and she wondered how she would handle it. Abel suddenly squealed as Jax flipped and lifted him over his head to rest on his shoulders, making Laurel laugh lightly in response. Without meaning to, she caught eyes with Tig who was standing just behind Jax and quickly looked down, paying unneeded attention to the jug in front of her when he smiled back at her. More than once already that morning Laurel had averted her eyes when she caught Tig watching her at the window.

Outside, Tig stood staring at the window with a shit eating grin on his face after seeing the way Laurel looked away from him. He knew that her smile was for Abel but the blush on her cheeks was definitely his doing. She had been avoiding him for the last few weeks ever since their encounter in the kitchen and he was beginning to wonder if she was worth the hassle. But after the way she reacted to his gaze, he thought he might give it another shot.

Noticing how Laurel got quiet and the way her cheeks flushed when she looked away from the window, Chibs leaned forward to look outside and caught Tig smiling back at him. He pulled back from the window with a furrowed brow and looked again at Laurel. A sudden rush of jealousy hit his stomach as he wondered if something was going on between them that he hadn't heard about.

"Laurel, where's the key to the padlock?" Jax asked, coming in from the backyard, surprising both Laurel and Chibs.

Laurel turned to look at Jax. "What padlock?" she asked, then it dawned on her. "Oh, shit," she hissed quietly, closing her eyes tightly and dropping her hand onto the counter. "It's at my apartment," she explained, recalling the day she stopped by the rental place to pick up the bouncy castle and air pump for Abel's birthday party. They had given her the castle and pump with no issues, but she received a call a few hours later apologizing and informing her that they had forgotten to give her the key for the padlock on the air pump case. Apparently it was a new safety precaution and the employees weren't used to including the key when they rented them out.

Jax sighed heavily and stroked his goatee. "Can you go get it? People'll be showin' up soon and I wanna get it set up."

"Yeah, of course. Sorry," Laurel apologized. She knew how much Abel was looking forward to having the bouncy castle set up and felt bad for making a careless mistake. "I shouldn't be long." Laurel grabbed the jug of lemonade she just made and turned to put it in the fridge before making a "yikes" face up at Chibs.

Running out of the kitchen, she quickly grabbed her purse from the closet then headed outside, hoping to get home and back before more people showed up and were waiting on her. She fished for her keys in her purse then stopped dead when she looked up and didn't see her car, remembering that Jax had picked her up that morning. Jax's' was blocked in by Gemma's SUV and Tig, Juice and Chibs' motorcycles were parked beside it. Laurel let out a frustrated groan then turned around, taking a step to go back inside to ask Gemma if she could move so she could take Jax's SUV. She hesitated for a second, wondering if she should just try to walk the few blocks, but shook it off when she realized it would take too long.

When she entered the house she heard sounds in the kitchen, suggesting that Jax and Chibs were still inside.

"Your car's blocked in," she said quickly, before she got to the kitchen. "I can get going if Gemma ..." she paused, finding Jax putting a straw into a juice box and Tig leaning with his back against the counter, popping pretzels into his mouth.

"Shit, that's right," Jax sighed, remembering that he drove that morning. Jax looked out the window and saw his mother enjoying herself with her grandsons and didn't want to interrupt. He cocked his head over to Tig who was staring at Laurel. "Can you give her a ride?" he said, more as a statement than a question.

"Gladly," Tig answered smoothly with a grin, standing up straight. He walked by Laurel and brushed his shoulder against hers, crunching on the last pretzel in his hand and giving her a crooked smile with hooded eyes.

There it was. Exactly what she had been trying to avoid. A knot formed in Laurel's stomach as she glared at Jax and shook her head ever so slightly, feeling panicked. Since Tig had tried to kiss her she had been doing her best to, not quite ignore him but to avoid being alone with him or encourage the lingering stares he'd been giving her. Getting a ride from him would put her right where she didn't want to be and for some strange reason she couldn't explain, she didn't want him knowing where she lived. _He better not expect to come in_, she thought, then turned and headed for the front door when Jax gave her a look that suggested she get going. _Why couldn't Chibs have stayed in the kitchen?_ she added as she walked to the door.

She got outside and found Tig already sitting on his bike, fixing the strap on his helmet. Laurel felt defensive. She couldn't help it. The look on his face made her cringe, like he'd just won a small battle and he was trying to rub it in. She took a deep breath and tried to act like she wasn't bothered by having to ride behind Tig.

"How do I..." she started, then accepted the helmet held out to her. "Thanks," she said, distracted. "How do I get on?" she tried again, having never been on a motorcycle before.

Tig looked her over, not surprised that she'd never ridden before. "Ya just lift your leg, darlin', and get comfy behind me," he instructed with a raised eyebrow.

Laurel felt her lip curl up into a small snarl as she put the helmet on. Once she was certain that it was secure, she stepped closer and raised her right hand, hesitating a second before resting it on Tig's shoulder.

Tig started his bike and looked to his side, catching a lost look on Laurel's face. "It ain't that hard," he said in a playful tone.

Laurel snapped her eyes up at Tig, knowing that she was taking too long to get on, but she couldn't make herself do it. She lifted and lowered her left leg several times but always stopped. She knew she was acting like a baby but she didn't want to go with him.

"You getting on or what?" Tig hollered over the engine, wondering what was taking her so long.

Nothing seemed overly aggressive about his question or his tone but it made up Laurel's mind. "No, you ... you know what, I'll just walk."

Tig furrowed his brow in confusion and wondered what her deal was. "What? Why?" he asked. He knew she had been trying to stay away from him lately but this was just stupid.

Laurel just shook her head, not wanting to look at him because she didn't have a good reason for rejecting his ride.

"Just get the fuck on the bike," he said unimpressed, getting fed up with her. Hot or not, he was beginning to feel like she wasn't worth the effort.

That seemed to reinforce her decision. She shoved the helmet into Tig's stomach, making him huff over the rumble of the engine as she caught him off guard. "I said I'll walk," she spat out before turning away from Tig and walking down the driveway, wide eyed at what she had just done and hoping that Tig wouldn't become aggressive.

"I was joking. _Christ_," he yelled out to her.

Laurel refused to look back. She knew that she was acting ridiculous but she wasn't going to put herself in a position where she felt overly uncomfortable. Behind her, the rumble of Tig's bike cut out and she caught him mumbling "Stuck up, bitch," to no one in particular before she heard a door slam. She let out a deep breath and told herself she'd have to hurry if she was going to make it home and back before people started showing up at Jax's place. It would probably take her at least 20 minutes to make it there and back if she walked quickly enough. Laurel didn't care though. She would rather deal with an upset Jax than have Tig drive her home, and she'd deal with the consequences later.

Laurel had made it almost to the end of the block when she heard the growl of a bike getting closer to her. She tensed, thinking that Tig had come to insist on giving her a ride, and decided to keep her attention in front of her. The bike slowed down, inching closer to her left beside the sidewalk. She glanced towards it without moving her head and spotted a brown leather shirt instead of bare forearms, letting her know that it wasn't Tig after all. Laurel looked over quickly and sighed with a smile, her shoulders slumping in relief.

"What are you doing?" she asked, fairly certain that Chibs was there to give her a ride.

He didn't say anything right away. Instead, he leaned back and opened his saddle bag, retrieving an extra helmet and handing it to Laurel. "Heard ye needed a ride."

"Yeah," she answered quietly, knowing that Tig had probably bitched about her when he got into the house. "How pissed was he?"

"He'll be alrigh'," Chibs answered, recalling how Tig marched into the backyard mumbling about Laurel and how she bascially told him to fuck off. Jax had looked over at Chibs, sharing an amused smile then motioned for him to go after and give Laurel a ride. At that moment, he was pretty sure that there was nothing going on between her and Tig.

Chibs watched as Laurel put the helmet on, not having to worry about rearranging her hair, which was in a low ponytail that wrapped to the side, hanging over her collarbone in a fishtail braid. He caught her large eyes scanning his bike and he knew what she was thinking.

_"_Um ... with the risk of sounding stupid, I've never been on one of these before," she confessed, then made a nervous hum. "What do I do?" she asked, genuinely curious so she wouldn't screw up somehow.

Chibs laughed quietly to himself as Laurel raised her shoulders and eyebrows innocently.

"Gimme yer hand," he said softly, then took hold of her outstretched right hand that she offered without question. "Pick up your leg and slide it over the seat," he went on, gently pulling her closer to his bike. He could feel the hesitation in the tightness of her grip. "You'll be fine," he reassured her then pulled again, this time she followed his instructions and slid onto the seat behind him. "Place yer feet here," he added, grabbing the bottom of Laurel's jeans to guide her foot into place.

Laurel let Chibs place her feet safely on his bike then she tucked her purse between her stomach and his back. "Is that okay?" she asked, hoping it wasn't digging into him.

Chibs nodded, then continued. "Hold onto me tightly and make sure ye lean the same way I do. Don't go in the opposite direction," he instructed, hoping that she wouldn't be too fidgety behind him.

"Okay," Laurel answered over the low rumble, noting the difference between Tig and Chibs' way of handing her inexperience on a bike. She was grateful that he was patient with her.

"Hold on," he said, turning his head to the side.

Laurel listened and wrapped her arms around Chibs' waist, being careful not to place her hands too low. She clasped her fingers together and stiffened when Chibs shifted into gear and pulled away from the sidewalk.

The sudden lurch forward and roar of the bike startled Laurel, making her flinch and pull tightly against Chibs' stomach. She had felt the vibrations of a motorcycle when she stood near them but being on one was completely different and it took her a few seconds to adjust to the constant buzzing that tickled her entire body.

Holding snuggly onto Chibs, she was comforted by the warmth of his body and was surprised that he actually smelled good. She felt bad, realizing that for some reason she had been expecting a strong, unpleasant smell from him. Instead, when they stopped at a stop sign, she smiled as she caught a whiff of leather mixed with the faint smell of cigarette smoke and what she assumed was Chibs' deodorant. It was fresh and had an almost spicy undertone to it that mingled with his natural musk, making her, not exactly light headed but losing herself for a second.

"Huh," she let out quietly.

"What's tha' love?" Chibs asked, catching the sound she made.

"Nothing," Laurel answered quickly, not wanting to explain the sound she didn't mean to make.

* * *

Chibs pulled up to Laurel's apartment within minutes, remembering the way to her place easily. As Laurel got up from behind him, Chibs was impressed by how well she road. She did just like he instructed and besides tightening her grip on him on a few turns, she didn't seem frightened at all, like he had expected her to be.

Laurel took an unsteady step after getting off of Chibs' bike and turned to him.

"Thanks," she said, surprisingly exhilarated after her first ride on a motorcycle. "I'll be right back," she paused before adding, "actually, you go ahead. I'll just drive my car back," she concluded with a wave of her hand, knowing that she'd have to drive home after the party anyways.

Chibs shook his head without looking at Laurel. "No, 't'll be faster with the bike and easier to park," he advised calmly. "And someone will drive ye home later," he added, anticipating her protest.

"Alright," Laurel conceded then began to jog up to the door. "Be right back."

Once inside, she rushed by a few of her neighbours in the stairwell, giving them a polite smile instead of a greeting, and received confused looks in return. She wondered what those looks were about but dismissed them as she continued on to her floor. Laurel reached her door and opened it, quickly reaching inside to grab the rental key from the bowl sitting on a small table near the entrance, where she kept most of the items she needed whenever she went out. Closing and locking the door quickly behind her, Laurel ran back down the hallway and reached the front entrance within a few seconds. As she approached the main glass door, she caught her dim reflection and realized why her neighbours had been staring at her; she was still wearing Chibs' spare helmet.

Closing her eyes in embarrassment, she pushed through the door then stopped just outside her building. Her cheeks grew warm and she felt the tingle of excitement at finding Chibs waiting casually on his motorcycle, for her. His leather, helmet and sunglasses suited him well and she felt a flutter in her stomach when she thought of how good he looked. Pushing the feeling away, she moved forward and met up with Chibs.

"Got it," she said, grabbing on to Chibs' offered hand. She resumed her position behind him and hung on tight, this time looking forward to the ride. Laurel had really enjoyed her first motorcycle ride and she understood why the guys found it so thrilling.

Pulling up to Jax's house, Laurel was surprised to find several more motorcycles parked in the driveway and a handful of cars parked along the street. She hadn't expected that many people to show up in the short time her and Chibs were gone.

Chibs turned in to the driveway and parked behind the cluster of other bikes, taking notice of the van parked out on the street with two prospects watching the house. Jax wanted them out front while everyone was out back, since they still had no leads on who sent Jax the anonymous note. Chibs nodded to them, receiving a nod in return and dismounted from his bike. He took the helmet back from Laurel after she fumbled to get it off, then followed a few strides behind her as she took off for the front door. She knew Abel was probably getting upset that the castle hand't been set up yet and felt bad for keeping him waiting.

As Laurel entered the house she flinched, throwing her hands up defensively in front of her and almost stumbled back into Chibs. "_Oh _my god," she called out in a panic.

* * *

**Please let me know what you think.**


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